The Satellite: A Clone Wars Story
by ImaginIsa
Summary: Jedi Master Beto Mag Liano has never been a general. He has never led a clone army nor led attacks against hundreds of droids. And he has never left a man behind; that, at least, he isn't planning to start anytime soon. A story of how the Jedi, and the clones they suddenly found themselves fighting a galaxy-wide war. All rights owned by a combo of Lucasfilm and Disney.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Introductions**

Beto looked at the sea of white, Mandalorian style helmets before him and fought to keep his face neutral. The _Feeling_ that had plagued him since Qui Gon's death on Naboo eleven years ago was stronger now as he looked at the small part of the Clone Army that he was going to lead. _This war should not be happening_ , he thought grimly. _It will be the end of us. How can we lead men into battle and still call ourselves Jedi?_ But the Council and the Senate had ordered the Jedi to lead this army against the endless droid supply of the Separatists. So, Beto would. But that didn't mean he had to stop showing compassion.  
"At ease, men," he said. In perfect synchronization, the clones before him opened their legs and clasped their hands behind their backs. Beto wanted to roll his eyes. That didn't look any more comfortable than the "attention" position that had been barked by Commander Jay – another clone but with distinctive black and blue markings on his armor that distinguished him from the rest of the troopers. And the four slightly more built clones in the front of the line weren't troopers at all, but Clone Commandos that were to be sent on more delicate missions on their own. And they didn't _Feel_ like "men" in the Force at all; more like children or teenagers. After all, their biological age was barely older than ten years. Even though their accelerated aging made them seem more like they were in their early twenties. Beto had a lot to learn about these new allies if this mission was to survive. And he only had a week to do it.  
"Helmets off, please," Beto added. The rows of helmets were eerie and impersonal. The clicking and hissing of the suits being opened was not in sync. They hadn't been expecting that. Fifty-five identical faces looked up at him. No, not identical. Here and there, scars from the first battle of Genosis. Armor painted to reflect individuality. And, in the Force, their rippling emotions and thoughts left shadows that were quite different.  
"I am General Beto Mag Liano," said Beto. "I am the Jedi Master to which you have been assigned." It was time to win their confidence, if not their trust. "Although it would be more correct to say I was assigned to you. You have been trained for this. You have proven yourself in battle and have come to the aid of the Jedi when we sorely needed it. For that, I thank you."

There.

Beto could feel their surprise, and a hesitant admiration from a few. Whoever had commanded them last hadn't cared much about their opinions. Beto frowned internally. He'd have to remedy that.

"You have insight and expertise that I may not have. And I have the Force. By working together, I believe that we can achieve our goal of stopping the Separatists. We are headed to a small outpost in the Outer Rim. We should be able to accomplish our objective from the air – but several years of experience tell me that things rarely go as planned."  
"Never trust the intel...or the cantina menu," one brave trooper volunteered. Beto smiled broadly and, encouraged, a few of the men laughed. Good, they were relaxing. Now to give them spirit.  
"We are part of frontal assault in the Outer Rim," Beto said, allowing his voice to grow. "We are a thin layer between the innocent people we are protecting, between destruction and peaceful planets that want no part in this conflict. We are few. But we are well trained. Strong. Have survived battle and loss. And we will not let this enemy drive us back! We will not allow the Dark Side to destroy the Light. I know that you were not given a chance to volunteer, but I am asking you know. Will you stand with me and protect the Republic?"  
"YES, SIR!" The response was deafening. And Beto could _Feel_ in the Force that it was genuine.  
Pleased and slightly relieved, he finished, "Wheels up in t-minus ten minutes. Men, to your posts."

There was a disorganized clatter of troopers hurrying away, some putting their helmets back and then heading to their posts. Others looked for their mates before heading off to the different parts of the small forward assault vessel. But it was a forward assault vessel all the same. Complete with two small fighter ships that could be used as extra gun-support while still attached to the ship, or be easily unattached and used as wing ships piloted by one or two men. And, for piloting these ships, Beto had commandos.  
"Commander Jay," Beto motioned to his, for all intents and purposes, first officer.  
"Sir." Jay saluted.  
Beto finally allowed himself the look of exasperation that had been coming for a long time. "Jay, I appreciate the support," he said. "But you really don't need to salute every time you see me."  
Jay looked very uncomfortable at that. "Sir, protocol..."  
"Jay," Beto put his hand on the other man's shoulder. "You will soon learn that I prefer a less distant form of leadership. Please, when it's just the two of us, don't salute."  
Jay nodded. "Yes, sir. That is...better." He looked a bit surprised at his own sentence. Beto tried not to laugh. "If you please, Commander, tell the commandos that I'd like to see them in my office as soon as possible."  
"Sir!" Jay's hand went half-way to his forehead before he remembered that he wasn't supposed to salute. So he just nodded instead, putting his hand awkwardly on his chest.

Beto almost laughed. _If only Blake could see this,_ he thought. But his eighteen year old padawan wasn't on the ship. He was on-loan to Master Windu who had required a partner on a mission. It was a mark of how spread thin the Jedi had become that the revered Master had asked for a young padawan. Blake had been ecstatic. Beto hoped he wasn't giving Windu too much trouble. Also, he couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed that Windu had taken Blake. _Why couldn't the old Master just get his own padawan?_

"And Jay!" Beto called as an afterthought. The clone commander turned. "Contact my apprentice as soon as we're underway."  
"Yes, sir." Another awkward, bobbing nod.  
 _He'll get used to it_ , Beto thought. It was like training another apprentice. That was how he'd decided to think about the clones; another group of young eager apprentices. With a good deal of training but not much life experience. Except that he'd never had fifty-five padawans at once. And if Isa had been a handful, Blake was a completely different challenge, and these clones would be something eons different.

Beto's continued musings were interrupted by the arrival of the four commandos. They lined up in front of him, helmets on, and stood at attention.  
"You summoned us, General," said the one with the distinctive red band of a major on his right arm.  
"Yes." Beto looked from one to the other. "May you please remove your helmets?" The commandos did so. A quick survey of the Force told him that only the major was vaguely bothered by this. Another man couldn't have cared less, while the final two had decided that they felt right at ease with their new commanding officer. _I'll take half of them,_ Beto thought. _The other two will follow. They're a squad after all.  
_ Helmets off, the only real way to tell them apart was that one was bald except for the short mohawk down the center of his head, and the one that couldn't care less had a jagged scar above his left eye and an older scar on his chin.  
"What are your names?" Beto asked kindly.  
The Major looked a bit confused. "We have assignations, sir. The names are more...personal."  
"But we can say them if you prefer," Scarred Man was quick to add. The Major gave him a side-long glance. _Ah. Not the original squad then,_ Beto observed. _  
_"Yes, please," said Beto.  
"Major Nicko, sir," said the Major.  
"Private Zar," said scarred man.  
"I'm Edge," said the one with the mohawk. "And this is Jolly." The last man gave Beto a two-fingered salute.  
"And you were trained as specialty combat pilots, correct?" Prompted Beto.  
There was a very slight hesitation before Nicko replied, looking at Zar again. "Yes, General. By Sergeant Artemis at Kamino."  
Beto looked from Nicko to Zar. "Is there a problem, gentlemen?" He felt Edge's surprise at the word _gentlemen_.  
"This is a new squad, sir," explained Nicko. "Jolly and Edge were part of the same pod. And I was trained by Sergeant Artemis, same as them. Zar was one of Kal Skirta's."  
"But Artemis taught me how to fly," Zar was quick to add. "I'll be ready to fight."  
Beto nodded. "I believe you," he said, trying to sound both in control and soothing. Zar and Nicko's tension was like a pot of water beginning to boil in the Force. Jolly and Edge were still much more at ease. "I confess, I do not know much about your training sergeants. You'll have to educate me."  
Jolly seemed to take that as an invitation. "Well, both Skirta and Artemis are Mandalorian. So their training styles were pretty similar. Except Artemis specialized in advanced piloting and Skirta was the recon guy."  
Beto nodded. "I'd like to meet them someday." Then he got down to business. "Men, we are approaching Surius 5. A rather boring planet that is barely larger than a planetoid. It has one very important strategic element, however." Beto paused, expecting one of the men to ask the obvious question. However, it was just awkwardly silent for two beats and Beto had to remind himself that, no matter how much these ten year olds felt like children in the Force, they weren't apprentices. "Surius 5's core is completely filled with Tiranium," Beto finished.  
Jolly gulped. "Sir? Isn't that what they use to make droids?"  
Beto nodded. "There lies our reason for keeping it out of Separatist hands."  
Edge seemed encouraged by Jolly's comment and added. "Have the Separatists found it yet, General?"  
Beto frowned. "Unfortunately, we don't know that. But there has been a worrying increase of enemy troops in the area. Our mission is to provide additional intel and scout out an area for a permanent Republic base."  
"Are we expecting a fight, General?" Asked Nicko.  
"We're always expecting a fight," Beto said honestly. "We're expecting the Separatists to be unhappy about our presence. But they shouldn't send more than a few space craft to intercept us. That is where you come in. Are you familiar with the small fighter ships we have onboard?"  
"Yes, sir!" They chorused. Beto was impressed at the precision.  
"Very good," said Beto. "You have complete access to both of the crafts. Getting to Surius 5 will take us four days. I suggest you become intimate with the fighters. You will be our gunmen and pilots."  
"Very good, General," said Nicko.  
Beto nodded. And nothing happened. It took a few seconds for him to realize why. "You are dismissed," Beto remembered.  
"Sir!" They barked, snapping their helmets back on and then matching away.

Another trooper approached and saluted. "Sir, we are ready to engage the hyperdrive at your command." said the trooper. A lieutenant by the yellow band on his arm.  
"Very well, thank you." Beto began to walk to the bridge, motioning for the lieutenant to follow. "What is your name, Lieutenant." The clone felt vaguely shocked in the Force but answered all the same, falling into perfect step beside Beto, "Lieutenant Eon, General."  
"Well, Eon," said Beto as they headed to the bridge. "What exactly do they tell you about the Jedi? I'm very curious..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Broken Squads**

Nicko was now head of Dragon Squad. A mismatched, four-man band of survivors who had lost their original brothers.  
And Nicko missed his old squad, his _ner vod_ , his brothers. It was an ache in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't shake. Genosis and then being chilled down in suspended animation for a month or two before being woken back up and reassigned to this bunch. But he was the Major. He would gain the confidence of his small group the same way that the General was gaining the confidence of his troops. He could do it. Artemis had always said he was a damn good major. And Jolly and Edge were some of hers. They'd been part of Hawk Squad. It would be difficult to get those two separated long enough for the group of four to feel like four and not two plus one plus another one. Zar was going to be a problem though. Even without the Force, Nicko could feel the "I don't care attitude." And he'd been much too eager to undermine Nicko's authority in front of General Mag Liano. Or maybe that was how his squad had done things.

But this was Dragon Squad now.

"Zar," said Nicko. They were still heading to their quarters, speaking safely on the private comlinks in their helmets. "Don't ever cut me off in front of a CO again." Zar didn't reply. Nicko turned abruptly and jabbed him in the chest. "Got that?"  
"Yes, _ner vod_ ," said Zar irritably. Using the Mando word for brother. Skirta's men always slipped into Mando. "I got that." Nicko nodded. That was enough for him.  
"You know though, Sarge," said Jolly mildly. "I don't think the General minded. He called us gentlemen."  
"And did you see how he waited for us to talk?" Edge added. "I felt a bit bad when I realized it. What are you supposed to do with a CO that wants a conversation during a briefing?"  
"Confer, I guess," said Jolly. It sounded as if he were smiling. Nicko allowed himself an unseen grin. Yes, he would get along with Jolly and Edge all right.  
"Were you expecting all that though?" Asked Zar.  
"All what? The General?" Asked Nicko.  
"Yeah."  
"What about him?"  
"He was just different, I guess," said Zar. "Asking us for our names. Having us take off our helmets..."  
"How different do you think Jedi are from the training manual?" Asked Edge.  
"Well, he was...kind," said Jolly. "Not imposing at all."  
"Maybe General Mag Liano is a smaller Jedi?" Suggested Zar. "Not top brass council material?"  
"He did get a smaller troop number," said Edge.  
"But a more important mission," said Nicko. "Didn't you read the manifest? All of the troopers are specialized for sensitive missions that need more manpower than just a squad of commandos."  
"Maybe this boring planet is more dangerous than they told us," said Zar.

Nicko shook his head as they finally reached their bunk. "I don't think that's it," he said musingly. "I think that, like the General said, the Jedi think a fight is coming. And they want to be ready for it."

 **Three Days Later**

 ****"Hey, _ner vod_ ," Jolly said, adjusting the small bead comlink in his ear so that he could talk to Zar despite being helmet-less and half inside of the inner panel of their small fighter ship, _The Flame_. General Beto, they had been surprised to discover, had a sense of humor and, upon learning that they were Dragon Squad, had named the two small fighters " _The Flame"_ and " _The Roar_." Jolly decided that he liked the General-Jedi just fine. _"Ner vod?"_  
"Here," said Zar. He was in the cockpit, making sure everything worked for one last time. "What is it?"  
"Where'd you get the scar?" Edge and Jolly had been wondering about it for the last three days. There was no reply. Jolly waited patiently. He knew that Zar wasn't as grumpy as he appeared.  
"Which one?" Zar finally asked.  
"How about your chin?" Jolly volunteered. Better to start out slow.  
"Training exercise. Live rounds," said Zar. "I got thrown to the ground when a mine blew up behind me. I knocked out half my teeth, too. Skirta wasn't too happy."  
Jolly grinned, carefully flipping onto his back so that he could check the oxygen tanks strapped in the small hold with him. "That had to hurt."  
Zar half-laughed. "If you can't take it, you shouldn't have signed." It was something their sergeants had always said. Not that it made much sense in their particular situation.  
"And the one above your eye?" Asked Jolly.  
Zar was quiet. Jolly's usual good nature slipped. "I've got some scars on my back from where I was dragged out of Genosis by Edge," he told Zar quietly. "He should have left me behind – protocol you know. I was too injured to walk. But he just kept saying that he wasn't leaving me, too."  
"I saw them," said Zar. "When you were changing. They must have been deep."  
"Shrapnel went right through my armor," said Jolly cheerily. "And then it was all yanked around. But the whole place was collapsing so Edge couldn't carry me or anything."  
"Mine is shrapnel, too," said Zar. His voice was so soft that Jolly froze in his check of the fuel tanks so that he could hear better. "But it hit me after tearing right through Fen."  
 _Oh._  
Jolly swallowed hard. "I'm sorry, _ner vod_."  
"I'm trying, you know," said Zar suddenly.  
"Huh?" Jolly grunted, focusing on trying to scramble out of the small space. He was starting to feel claustrophobic.  
"To fit in," Zar said. "I'm trying. It's just...we were almost out when the ships started firing. We were so close to being clear. And then they were gone. At least you and Edge have each other."  
"Nicko's in the same bind as you," Jolly pointed out.  
"I know," Zar sighed. "I didn't rub him the right way the first day. I'm trying with him, too."  
"Don't worry, _ner vod_ ," Jolly said. He was finally out of the storage compartment and went forward to place his hand on his squad-mate's shoulder. "We know."

" _The Roar_?" Edge shook his head, grinning. "That Jedi Master would get along great with Sarge Artemis."  
"Yeah," Nicko said, also grinning. "He has a good sense of humor. I wasn't sure if Jedi were allowed to make jokes."  
"Beto made Commander Jay laugh the other day," said Edge. Nicko frowned at him.  
"What?" Edge demanded. "No one's around. We don't even have our buckets on."  
"Helmet or no helmet," said Nicko firmly. "He's a Jedi Master and our General." He waited until Edge nodded before conceding with another grin, "General Beto at least." Edge laughed. They went back to double checking that all the controls were in tip-top shape.

"Hey, Edge?"  
"Yeah, Sarge?"  
"You and Jolly don't mind that I split you up for the fighters, right?" It'd been bothering Nicko. It was important for the squad to work well together. And any resentment from something like that could be dangerous in a firefight when the pilot and copilot had to trust each other intimately.  
"Naw, Sarge," said Edge. "We get that the squad needs to work as a unit. Besides, Jolly and I are both used to being primary pilot – we'd probably just bicker if you stuck us together."  
Nicko doubted that was true. But he appreciated the gesture all the same. He commed the other fighter.  
"Commencing com check. _Roar_ to _Flame_ , can you hear me?"  
"Loud and clear," came Jolly's voice. "How about a little joy ride into hyperspace?"  
Edge chuckled.  
"How did the systems check go?" Asked Nicko.  
"Everything is green and ready, Nicko," said Zar. "We'll be ready when we drop out of light-speed."  
"Sounds good," said Nicko. "All right, men. Let's hit the mess before the General calls us to our posts."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Light-speed**

"Coordinates approaching, General," said Commander Jay.  
"Very good," said Beto. Behind him, Dragon Squad was standing at attention with Lieutenant Eon right behind them. The Bridge was the bustling movement of a well-oiled machine. Although he knew that he had nothing to do with it, Beto couldn't help but feel proud of his small crew. He'd have to personally thank the men and women that had trained them on Kamino.  
"Dropping out of hyperspace in Four..." Began the helmsman, Trooper Nev. "Three Two..."

"SHIELDS!" Beto's barked command rang out a few seconds before the ship was out of light-speed, startling just about every clone on the bridge. To his credit, Eon lurched forward to engage the shields himself. But Beto was already moving. He'd crossed the bridge in two strides and taken hold of the controls over the shoulder of Trooper Nev. _The Nova_ lurched to the side, barely missing being obliterated by a volley of laser fire coming from the Separatist cruiser that has been lying in wait for them.  
"Red alert!" Barked Beto. "Battle stations! Dragon squad, go, go, go!" Beto was aware of Nicko all but shoving Jolly in the direction of the fighters and then running after his group. The Force told him that the entire ship had erupted into chatter that was contained within helmet comlinks. And the sense of _child_ that had been so apparent in the Force when he first met his men was gone, replaced by the distinct taste of soldiers. Beto wrenched _The Nova_ to the side once again, the Force warning him seconds before to the danger.  
"Take over, Nev," said Beto.  
"Yes, sir!" The helmsman said, scrambling to comply.  
"Jay! Do we have weapons?"  
"Yes, General!"  
"Fire away! Alpha spread – knock that cruiser out of the sky!"  
"You heard the General!" Jay barked. "I want roasted droids for dinner, men!" Space lit up with the laser fire from _The Nova_. Alarms blared as the enemy ship returned fire but held its ground. A bit unusual for a ship with Nemodian markings. They were usually cowards. _Perhaps..._ Beto half-closed his eyes. Around the bridge, clones gave each other worried looks but kept doing their job. Commander Jay actually took a step forward, exchanging worried glances with Eon.

"Nev!" Beto barked, his eyes flying open. "Move us closer to the planet, now!"  
Nev did so. Letting Commander Jay worry about the strange order. Which Jay did. "General? Closer to...?" Jay's protest died on his lips as two much larger intercept vessels dropped out from light-speed. With those vessels in the way, they couldn't escape into hyperspace.  
Beto nodded grimly and keyed the com. "Dragon Squad," he said. "I hate to do this to you boys, but you've got to destroy one of those interceptors or no one is getting home."  
"Understood," came Nicko's reply. "Docking clamps being released now." Beto glanced at one of the bridge workers for confirmation – he received a nod – and then _The Roar_ and _The Flame_ came into view. Shooting at the enemy vessels with all the skill and daring of ace pilots.  
"Concentrate fire on the intercept vessels," he told Commander Jay, trusting him to relate the message to the gunners on the other level. "And then get us out as soon as you can."  
"Yes, General," said Jay.  
"May the Force be with us," muttered Beto, watching the commando ships with narrowed eyes.  
"Yes, sir," said Eon. It sounded like a prayer.

"Time to put some of Artemis' smuggler tricks to good use, gentlemen," said Nicko. He steadied his hands over the weapon's controls and trusted Edge to do the flying. "Over and under."  
"Copy that," said Jolly. His voice was a bit warbled over the encrypted comm but his voice was easy enough to understand. Actually, he sounded much too cheerful for the situation. "Don't scare the Sarge, Edge!" Nicko didn't bother to wonder what that meant.  
"Weapons ready," said Zar. "Aiming for the weapon towers."  
"Over and under in three...two...NOW!" Edge shouted. He flipped the fighter upside down and skirted the edge of the Interceptor, coming much too close for comfort but giving Nicko a lovely shot at the top of the weapon tower closest to them, the part with no shields so that it could shoot at enemy ships. Then they went looping around the entire Separatist vessel. Nicko blasted anything that looked important enough to give the droids below a bad day.

Edge finally righted the ship, grinning like a fool.  
"That was much too close," Nicko told him. The panel before him said that the ship below was now only operating with half of its weapons. Not bad.  
"That's how he got his name," Jolly said over the comm. "He goes right along the edge of things. Just about every opportunity he gets."  
"We got out the other tower," Zar interrupted his partner. "Again?"  
"Let's...ah...actually, let's play monkey with these guys, shall we?" Said Nicko, about ten enemy fighters had just come out of the ship's hold.  
"Permission to blast the hold doors of the other ship so that these guys can't get help?" Even as he asked, Jolly had already turned _The Flame_ towards the other baddie. The one that was focusing on the General's ship.  
"Go, go, go!" Nicko yelled at him. Jolly and Zar zipped away. Nicko gritted his teeth as Edge flipped their ship again and then dived. Two droids pilots crashed into each other but the rest set a pursuit course.

"All right, let's see your aim," Edge hissed. He dropped and skirted the very edge of the enemy's shields. Another droid fried itself and the rest broke off trying to loop around but got caught in the gravity well of their own mother ship. "Shoot something!" Edge yelled. But Nicko had already aimed. A giant fireball lit up the path behind them as something large and important looking exposed into flame.  
"What did we hit?" Asked Edge.  
"I dunno but they don't look happy about it," said Nicko. He switched to the rear guns and began firing at the fighters. He'd gotten two – and been very happy about the number of drills he'd done in Kamino – when Edge flipped the fighter again and dove down.  
"Shield generator!" Edge barked.  
"Torpedoes away!" Said Nicko. He fired two. Just in case.

Both hit.

"Woohoo!" Cheered Edge. "Good-bye droids!"  
"Fighters, come in," came General Beto's voice.  
"Here, General."  
"Rendezvous with _The Nova_ , let's get out of here."  
"Yes, sir!"  
"Ah...Nicko," said Edge. "We've still got company." Nicko glanced at the instruments. Five very angry and slightly better skilled droid fighters.  
" _Nova_?" said Nicko.  
" _Nova_ , here." Said Commander Jay.  
"We're bringing the party."  
"Perfect, I'll make sure we set out some tea and biscuits."  
"None for me, thanks!" Edge grunted, dropping their speed so the torpedoes from one of their pursuers went over them and hit the other interceptor. "Oops." He didn't sound too upset though.  
Nicko narrowed his eyes and aimed at their trailer. And then realized that the other ship hadn't replied yet. "Zar? Jolly?"  
No reply. Fear gripped his heart. _No, no, no._  
"Zar? Jolly? Come in, _Flame_."  
"I see them," said Edge grimly. "Their comms must be down."  
Nicko nodded. And then winced as one of the lasers made contact with their ship. A warning light began to flash yellow. They'd lost one of the rear torpedo launchers. Lasers still worked though. So Nicko let them have it.

"The commandos can dock in about twenty seconds, General," one of the operators called.  
"Tell them to hurry," said Beto. The cruiser was doing enough damage that even with the interceptor's crippled, if they didn't leave soon, it wouldn't matter that the hyperdrive was still fine. "Give them cover fire!"  
"Confirmed, _The Roar_ is docked." _The Roar_. Even in a battle, Beto managed to be amused. It was battle humor; the kind of thing that Obi Wan Kenobi loved.  
"What about the other fighter?" Even as the words left his mouth, Beto felt a jolt that almost threw him forward.

"Report!"  
"They hit the docking clamps," someone yelled. "Automatic docking is disabled. Someone needs to go let them in."  
"I've got it!" Lieutenant Eon ran off, armor clacking a bit as he pushed his way around repair crews darting this way and that.  
The two commandos in the docked ship had linked their comm with the gunners and were acting as extra heavy artillery, blasting away at the cruiser with renewed vigor after the other shot grazed their squad mates. But the droid fighters had flown out of their range, dropping below _The Nova_ to appear on the other side just as Eon dropped the shields for two seconds to allow _The Flame_ to dock.

Two seconds.

But computers are precise.

And droid fighters are just heavily armed computers.

Beto felt the shot in the Force before the alarms began to blare.  
"General! Another ship is approaching at light-speed!"  
"Get us out of here!"  
"Sir?"  
"To light-speed, emergency coordinates gamma. GO!"  
The stars became streaks of blue and silver lights as the mercifully intact hyperdrive engaged. Beto dropped his head, clutching the seat in front of him like a life line. Knuckles white against the dark material of the chair.  
"General?" Nev, the pilot in the chair, looked very concerned. "Anything I can do, sir?"  
"No, Nev," said Beto softly. Commander Jay came forward, looking alarmed, the same question in his eyes. "I felt the explosion in the Force." Beto took a deep breath. "Lieutenant Eon is dead." A shock went through the men in earshot. A ripple through the Force that was only a faint shadow of the one that Beto had just felt when the torpedo had exploded on the docking port.  
"Commander Jay," said Beto heavily, it had been a long time since he'd lost anyone in battle. "Please conduct a damage report of the ship. I'll be in my office."

It was dead silent after he left the bridge. Even over the comlinks. The news had traveled around the entire company in seconds. But if was as much an awed silence out of respect towards their General as much as a brief moment of silence over the first man to die on their ship. The General cared about his men. They'd been willing to follow any order before. But now, they were willing to volunteer to die for him.

Nicko and Edge ran across and ship and stood on the other side of the cracklings shields that was in the place the other fighter had once been. Eon was gone. And so was _The Flame_ – with their brothers inside. Again, they'd lost squad mates in battle. Edge dropped to his knees silently. Tears streaming down his face silently within his helmet. Nicko could only put his hand on his brother's shoulder silently.  
"Now I'm also the last one left," Edge said dully.  
"No, _ner vod_ ," said Nicko softly. "You're still one of two." It was bitter comfort.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Surius 5**

Zar hadn't been able to breathe. Heart pounding painfully, he hadn't even been able to breathe as he saw the torpedo collide with the docking port right in front of them. Jolly had yelled, yanking around the ship with pure reflex. And then the torpedo had exploded. The light would forever be seared into Zar's memory. Even with the anti-flare shielding engaging on his helmet, the light had messed with his vision for a few seconds. And then he'd seen the clone Lieutenant's body.  
He wished he hadn't.  
He'd never forget that either.

All this had taken seconds. The blast had sent them spinning and had blown up half the consoles in the cockpit. Jolly went flying backward only to hit the back ceiling and drop to the floor. A quick glance at the display on the inside of his helmet's heads up display – his HUD because who wants to think "heads up display" all the time – had told Zar that Jolly was alive, just dazed. So Zar had hit the button for the fire extinguisher and then used the secondary controls to try to stop the fighter's crazy spin.  
Only to realize that the only thing he could hope to do was not crash.  
So Zar tried to do less crashing and more landing onto the small rocky planet called Surius 5.

It was still more like crashing; effectively ruining any propulsion they might have had left and sending Jolly careening into the back wall. Zar hastily turned everything off so that things didn't explode and further ruin a day that had started with surprise droid attacks, rounded off nicely with a damaged communications system, and had the grand finale of the crash. Yup. This was an excellent day.  
Zar half-collapsed back in his chair. But he couldn't stop yet. Jolly was worryingly still in the back of the fighter and too many blinking lights were telling him to get out of the ship as soon as possible. He got to his feet and went to Jolly.  
"Jolly? Jolly, can you hear me?"  
A low grunt was his reply.  
Zar checked his HUD. No toxic chemicals in the ship. And Surius 5 had a breathable, if dry, atmosphere. He pulled off Jolly's helmet and met bleary dark eyes.  
"Owe," Jolly mouthed.  
"Can you move?" Zar asked, scanning him for injuries. The armor hadn't been pierced. But getting thrown around inside the armor wasn't fun either.  
"Yeah...oh..." Jolly hissed as Zar pressed his ribs. "That hurts."  
Zar frowned and began unbuckling chest plates.  
"I think I'm going to have a nice bruise," said Jolly. The cheerful tone sounded forced. Zar finished unbuckling and checked. Just in case. Jolly was right. The ribs didn't feel broken, he'd just been banged around. The tightness inside of Zar's own chest loosened a bit. Nicko and Edge were safely on _The Nova_. So they had all made it. Now they just had to wait until the Republic showed up.  
"Alright, _ner vod_ ," said Zar. "We've got to get everything useful out of this dump and get as far as possible. If I were an enemy patrol, the first thing I would do is check the crash site."  
"Right," said Jolly. He sat up gingerly. "I'll strap myself in again while you figure out what we can take." Zar nodded and got to work.

First thing, first. He grabbed his Deece. The multifunctional blaster was every commando's pride and joy. They'd been given smaller models as soon as they could walk. Simple extensions made it a small canon and it was perfectly capable as both a sniper's weapon and for short range work. Zar's was easy to access. But Jolly's had ended up under some smashed parts so extracting it took an extra few seconds. By then, Jolly was back in armor, minus his helmet and had pulled out the emergency ration packs in the back. No commando ever went on a mission without one – even on a fighter plane. "Plan for all the weather," Artemis used to say. Skirta had agreed. The first thing Nicko had done was make sure both of the crafts were well-equipped with enough rations and equipment for three days. Zar knew what was inside those packs without checking. And he was grateful for Nicko's attention to detail. _I'll have to thank him when we get back_ , he thought. But they would need more than just their Deeces to survive an attack from a whole band of droids. And the ship wasn't equipped with portable lasers or.. _.wait_.  
Zar went over to the damaged torpedo launchers and read the flickering panel. There were still two torpedoes left – one on each side.  
"Jolly," he said, getting to work tearing open the panel. "Come here a second." Jolly came over.  
"Woah, there, Zar. Are you actually looking to blow us up?"  
"We can use the torpedoes to make grenades," Zar explained. "They're small, we can carry them."  
"They're also live." Jolly's voice didn't hold a trace of his usual good humor.  
"I can do it," Zar insisted. "I was one of the best at IED training."  
Jolly just blinked several times.  
Zar sighed. "Look. You're a pilot. Me, I'm an explosives guy. Trust me. I let you flip me upside down about a hundred times."  
Jolly nodded. "Okay." He buckled on his helmet and gingerly helped Zar take out the two torpedoes and strap them onto the outside of their packs. And the last thing...  
"Jolly," Zar said, examine the smoking communications panel. "Help me with this thing."  
"I thought we fried the com," said Jolly, coming over none the less.  
"Maybe I can fix it," said Zar. They pulled out the entire thing and then hurried out of there before the sparking ship could set off the two torpedoes they had strapped to their backs.

They soon discovered why General Beto said the planet was boring. The two of them climbed a rocky out-cropping that looked promising. But…  
"Nothing," said Jolly, looking around them with the binoculars. "Not a single outpost or ship or even a weather balloon. Zip."  
"I get the picture," Zar grumbled. "What's a weather balloon?"  
"A big balloon that they used to check the weather on Solaris ages and ages ago," said Jolly. He lowered the binoculars. "Artemis used to say it once in a while. One of her parents was Solarian. The other was Mandalorian."  
"Ah," said Zar. He took off his helmet and took a measured sip of water, grimacing as the heat hit him. "Must have made an interesting mix of slang."  
"Just about none of the other commandos can understand us," said Jolly cheerily. But he sobered up as he took off his own helmet and extended his hand for the water. "We need to find some cover, Zar. Night life may not be so sparse as animals in the day. Especially with this heat driving them underground."  
"Agreed." Zar replaced his helmet and re-shouldered the pack. "We should scout out some of those caves in the cliff up ahead. If they're empty, they'll provide good cover."  
"Don't you think they'll have things living in them?" Asked Jolly. The sound of a ship drawing closer cut off Zar's reply.  
"Down!" Zar hissed. They dove underneath the outcropping of the stone structure and they waited, looking up at the injured yet functional cruiser that was listing heavily to one side making its way behind the mountains.  
"Never mind," said Jolly lightly. "I'll take the caves." Zar nodded, mouth dry. There were at least one hundred and fifty fully functional droids in that thing. And they were two unprepared commandos. Their chances were getting slimmer by the second.

The rat thing that Jolly had shot out of reflex when they entered the cave turned out to be pretty tasty. Zar gnawed on a piece right off the stick as he fiddled with the communications equipment. He'd been at it for an hour already and his hopes were diminishing with each passing second.  
"Do you want help with –" Jolly was cut off as the panel in Zar's hand sparked into flame. Zar yelped and threw the wreck clear, deeper into the cave. It sputtered out, leaving their only hope of contacting _The Nova_ a smoking mess of metal and colored wires. Zar rubbed a tired hand across his eyes, wincing a bit at the burns.  
Jolly got up and rummaged in his pack for a second before sitting down in front of him with bacta spray. Silently, he held out his hand for Zar's. Zar let him fuss. All commandos has basic first aid skills, and an injured soldier was a liability. But he felt strangely hollow. There was no more adrenaline and no more busted communications equipment to keep him busy. There was an entire garrison of droids out there and their suit com systems couldn't contact a ship unless it was in low orbit. And _The Nova_ wasn't in orbit.  
"They don't know we're alive," said Zar quietly.  
Jolly swallowed hard but kept bandaging. "You don't know that."  
"Would you know we were alive?" Zar demanded harshly.  
Jolly looked at him stubbornly. "I would keep looking for Edge until I was one hundred percent sure he was gone. I know that he'd do the same for me. He has done the same, in fact."  
"This is different from pulling a brother clear during a fire-fight," Zar argued.  
"No, it's not," said Jolly stubbornly. "We're pilots. Pilots crash. And then you look for your mates. Artemis drilled it into us. Someone always checks the planet. Both Nicko and Edge will be looking; and they'll find us, _ner vod_."  
Zar wished for that kind of confidence.  
"Until then," said Jolly. "We stick to the mission."  
"What mission?" Asked Zar.  
"Recon and intel," said Jolly. He stood to put away the rest of the meds and put his hand on his hips. Zar recognized Sergeant Artemis in the attitude. "General Beto said we were to gather intel on the enemy troops. Well, Mr. Skirta-Trained-Me, this is what you're good at. Let's find out if the tin-heads have found the ore yet."  
Zar nodded. Some of the emptiness in his chest disappearing now that he had a mission. "We wouldn't want the droids bringing their fellows to the party," said Zar.  
"Now you're catching on." Jolly gave him a grin. But it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Commander Jay just looked at Edge. Edge felt his anger reaching a low simmer, fueled by his worry over Jolly and Zar. "Please," he tried again. Opting for a less demanding tone than the one he had just used. "I need to speak to the General, immediately."  
Jay leaned in closer and hissed. "The General asked not to be disturbed with anything less than the safety of the ship."  
"This does have to do with the safety of the ship!" Edge all but yelled.

Nicko came running down the hall. On the private comlink, he hissed, "What are you doing?!"  
Edge ignored him. "It has to do with the missing...!"

Edge fell silent as General Beto opened the door from the inside. "I can feel your distress from inside," he said simply. "Will you come inside, Edge? And, Nicko, please join us."  
Edge felt guilty. It was obvious on the General's face that losing the trooper and the fighter had been hard on him. Something Edge hadn't expected at all. But that was why his discovery was important. And he had his brothers to help. General Beto sat behind his desk and motioned to the chairs before him. Sitting felt unnatural, but refusing felt rude, so Edge sat gingerly. Nicko did likewise. Probably fuming in the safety of his helmet.  
"General, sir," Edge began.  
"Please," said the General, putting up his hand. "Helmets off."  
Edge and Nicko were almost in sync when they did it. Jolly would have grinned. Nicko was trying to look as if he knew what was going on.  
"Sir," Edge began again. "I was going through our data from when the torpedo hit and I think the fighter made it."  
Nicko failed to look as if he knew what was happening. The Jedi nodded, he didn't seem surprised. "Please, continue."  
"Sir, the collision of a torpedo with a Beta class Republic cruiser should have triggered a massive explosion when the fuel compartment was hit," Edge explained. "No such explosion was detected. So I think that the torpedo hit _The Nova_ straight on. The collision with _The Nova_ would have grazed the fighter and the pilots would have been forced to make an emergency landing."  
"And you think they survived the crash?" The General asked.  
"Yes, sir." There wasn't a trace of doubt in Edge's voice. They were commandos. Of course they had.  
The General frowned. "I recall Commander Jay saying that their comms were disabled near the start of the battle. Would they have been able to repair it and contact us?"  
"Unclear, General," replied Edge honestly. "It would depend on the severity of the crash."  
"What are you suggesting, Edge?" General Beto said. For some reason he sounded a bit triumphant. As if Edge had just proven a point. It was an odd question for a commanding officer to ask, anyway. It forced Edge to make the request directly. _Okay_. He took a deep breath, _he could do direct.  
_ "General, may we have permission to go look for the rest of Dragon Squad?"  
Nicko was sitting at attention. General Beto looked at him and Nicko nodded his agreement, adding, "They would do the same for us."  
"I don't doubt that," General Beto murmured, smiling slightly. He looked at Edge. "Gentlemen, I cannot risk the entire crew of this vessel on a blind rescue attempt."  
Edge tried not to shout.  
"However, I agree with you whole heartedly that your squad mates survived the blast. And I have never left anyone behind. Nor will I start now," he said. Edge was shocked. So was Nicko – it was apparent in how his blinking rate had just about doubled. Edge felt his respect for the General double as well. General Beto keyed something into the data pad on his desk and a holographic projection of the Surius system appeared. "Surius 4 is close enough to its neighbor that they act almost as two moons orbiting each other as they orbit the star. _The Nova_ will hide on the far side of Surius 4 while the two of you take the remaining fighter – which one is it? _The Roar_? – and go scout the planet. Don't use comms until you're sure the droids aren't on the planet. But your partners' bio signs should stand out in an uninhabited planet." General Beto looked back up at the two clones. "I know that it isn't quite the speedy rescue you had in mind, gentlemen. But it is the best we can do. I don't want to lose anyone else – including the rest of your squad."  
"Yes, sir. I..." Edge swallowed hard. "Thank you, sir."  
Beto smiled kindly. "My pleasure, Edge. My pleasure."

They were almost out the door when General Beto suddenly made a strange noise, as if he had been punched in the diaphragm. Nicko and Edge spun around. The General had gone perfectly still, his eyes half-closed. Both Edge and Nicko froze. Edge tried not to panic. _Was the General having a fit of some sort? What were you supposed to do if a Jedi had a fit? Call a medic? Or was this some weird form of meditation? But the General looked much too tense to be meditating. It was more like the way he had seized up right before they arrive at Surius 5, when he had figured out it was a trap. So did the General_ Sense _something?  
_ Nicko looked as lost as Edge did, but at least he had the courage to ask, "General Mag Liano? Sir? Can we help you?"  
Jedi Master Beto's eyes refocused on them, taking a second or two to actually recognize them.  
"No," he murmured, completely distracted. "No...I'm all right." He stood slowly, still distracted, his gaze on something invisible standing between himself and the clones. "I don't think that cruiser was waiting for us," he said. "I think we surprised it."  
"Sir?" Nicko repeated. Edge was still worried that it was a Jedi melt down of some kind. He had heard of clones going crazy after losing brothers – was this the Jedi version?  
"The Separatist cruiser," said General Beto, looking at Edge directly for the first time. "The way it was positioned, do you remember?"  
Edge was lost.

Nicko wasn't. "Oh," Nicko breathed. "It was facing the planet."  
"It wasn't expecting us," said Edge, finally catching on. "It was looking at something else." He frowned. "Sir, do you think they found the ore?"  
"Not quite," said General Beto grimly. "I think they made a garrison."  
Nicko and Edge exchanged alarmed looks.  
"Sir, how could you...?" Edge trailed off at the look Nicko gave him the, don't-question-the-CO look.  
"Oh," the General suddenly looked slightly embarrassed. "I have a knack for technology. Force-sensitives make excellent pilots and mechanics. But I'm one of the very few Jedi that can actually sense machines in the Force." Nicko and Edge blinked.  
"I thought..." Edge trailed off again at the plainly exasperated look Nicko gave him. Beto smiled.  
"It's a special talent I have."  
All in all, if was the oddest conversation Edge had ever had with a CO. But they were going back for Jolly and Zar. That was all that mattered.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Speeders, and Droids, and Jedi. Oh my!**

Zar was still pretty upset. Jolly could tell by the way he was clicking his tongue against the back of his teeth every few seconds. It would have driven Nicko crazy, Jolly was sure. But it was so regular that Jolly was making up a little song to go along with it.  
 _Surius is dry. Surius is hot. Surius is boring yet it's got a lot_. "Click." _We're looking for droids. Droids are looking for us. We better be careful or they'll make a fuss._ "Click."  
Jolly actually chuckled to himself.  
"What's the joke?" Asked Zar wearily.  
"Me," said Jolly lightly, smiling broadly within his helmet. He was sure Zar could hear it in his voice.  
"Do you often laugh at yourself?"  
"Oh, yeah," said Jolly, cheerfully. "All the time."  
Zar probably glanced at him with that confused look he had, he certainly let out a confused little breath. But with helmets on it was a bit difficult to tell.

There was the tell-tale whirring sound of an approaching speeder and the two of them flung themselves into the shadows of the imposing peaks above them. Three droids on speeders buzzed past them, looking more like something from a dream with the reflection of the sun on the reinforced chest plates meant for surveillance work.  
"We're close," Zar said quietly.  
"Yeah," Jolly breathed. He blinked rapidly to engage the binocular function on his HUD. The droids kept going for only a short distance before stopping abruptly. They dismounted and took out some sort of drilling equipment from the back of the speeder and began drilling into the mountain.  
A chill went down Jolly's spine.

"They're looking for the ore," Zar said grimly.

Jolly didn't reply. He was thinking hard. _Find a positive spin, find a positive spin,_ he chanted mentally. That was what Sergeant Artemis used to tell them. There was no point in being depressed if it made you useless. So the positive spin to this was...  
The speeders.  
"Hey, Zar," said Jolly quietly. He wiggled out of his backpack and loaded his Deece. "How would you like a shiny new speeder?"  
Zar's grin was obvious in his reply. "Just what I needed, _ner vod_."  
"On three," said Jolly. He carefully lined up the first droid with the crosshairs. "Three...two...one."

On "one", both commandos pulled the trigger. The two droids standing guard fell in tandem. The droid with the drill hadn't even noticed his fellows were dead over the sound of the rock being ground away. He fell less than a second later. Two shots to his chest-plate. A bit excessive but Jolly and Zar hadn't decided who was picking off the last metal-man. Zar was in an obviously better mood as they dumped the droids into the gorge and tied two speeders together so that they could pull the extra speeder along. At the last second, Jolly brought along the drill.  
Zar had been fiddling with the navigation system and let out a happy whoop. "I know where they've been!" He said excitedly.  
"Excellent," said Jolly. He kicked the speeder to life and heard the satisfying sound of a well-tuned engine. Finally, something he could pilot. "Time for some recon. Any chatter on their comms?"  
"No comms," said Zar regretfully. "They must have been using droid to droid communications."  
"Ah," said Jolly. He glanced at the gorge. "Let's high-tail it out of here before they realize that they're missing."  
"Right." Zar started his speeder and they took off. Zipping past the weird rock formations, deeper into the jagged mountains. Following a dry river bed.

Then a lithe shape detached itself from the mountain and flew down towards them. Zar cursed. Jolly was barely aware of drawing his blaster and tracking the half-falling, half-jumping figure. It landed before them and Jolly was already squeezing the trigger as a blue-purple blade appeared in its hand. A lightsaber.

Jedi. _Fierfek._

It was too late, both Zar and Jolly had already fired and the Jedi deflected the bolts harmlessly into the mountains. Zar and Jolly skidded to a halt, the third speeder complaining of maltreatment as if swung a bit on its harness.  
"I'm so sorry," the Jedi said. She pushed back her hood, revealing golden eyes and long hair that was braided down her back. "I heard the speeders and recognized the _Feeling_ of clones. I'm afraid I didn't stop to think that the first thing you would do was shoot at me."  
Jolly wasn't sure what to say to an apology from a General. Especially one he had just met. But Zar wasn't going to say anything so...  
"It's all good, General," said Jolly cheerfully. He automatically pulled off his helmet, used to General Beto's insistence that they do so. Zar hurried to follow.  
The lightsaber was powered off and the Jedi came forward with a smile. "I'm glad you recognized the lightsaber," she said. She extended her hand to shake Jolly's. Shocked, he dismounted and shook her hand automatically. Zar looked as if he was about to fall off the speeder from surprise.  
"I'm Master Isa Bel-Mart," said General Isa.  
"Jolly," said Jolly. "And this lovely specimen with the scars is Zar."  
Zar glared at him. But saluted the General all the same.  
"Pleased to me you," she said. "Sorry, I have to ask, but are you alone? You're Commandos, right? Where is the rest of your squad?"  
"We're waiting for them to come rescue us, actually, General," said Zar regretfully.  
"Yeah, they're safely on _The Nova_ with General Mag Liano," added Jolly.  
"Beto Mag Liano?" General Isa asked. A smile spread across her face.  
"Yes, ma'am," said Jolly.  
General Isa actually chuckled. "Then we're as good as rescued already. Don't worry, gentlemen."  
Jolly and Zar exchanged glances. She sounded very sure.  
"My old Master never leaves anyone behind," she said smugly.

 _Oh._ Thought Jolly _. That's why._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: To Be a Padawan**

Nicko and Edge were almost done with the pre-flight check when General Beto came striding down the corridor dressed in – of all things – the shoulder plates from the extra commando armor over a dark brown tunic that looked much more functional than the flowing Jedi robes. His lightsaber hung next to a small blaster that didn't look like standard Jedi issue either.  
"Gentlemen, I believe that I shall join you," he said by way of greeting. He sat in the back and strapped himself in just as Commander Jay came running up, looking a bit harried.  
"General, sir," said Jay. "Wouldn't it be safer for you to stay with _The Nova_?"  
"Safer, yes," said General Beto. "But useful? Most definitely not. The ship is yours until I return, Commander Jay. Wait for my signal before approaching Surius 5. Understood?"  
Commander Jay stood at attention and saluted. "Yes, sir."  
General Beto nodded. "Thank you," and then the door to the fighter rose seemingly of its own accord. Nicko saw Edge giving the door controls a worried glance.  
"Not to worry, gentlemen," said General Beto. "I raised the door. Jay is a good man but he needs to lighten up a bit."  
Nicko felt himself relax slightly. It didn't sound as if the General was here to test them.  
"Nicko," said General Beto.  
"Yes, General."  
"These are your overriding orders for the mission; find your squad mates and get them to safety. Understood?"  
"Yes, sir!" Said Nicko enthusiastically.

It wasn't until they had left _The Nova_ and were approaching the night side of Surius 5 that Nicko thought to ask. "General, what will you be doing?"  
"I will be looking for whatever is making that boring little planet feel like a ship-yard," said General Beto.  
"Sir?" Edge asked.  
General Beto was silent for a moment. Then he asked, "Do you boys know what midichlorians are?"  
Nicko thought back to his manual on the Jedi. "It's what gives Jedi control over the Force, correct?"  
"Almost," said General Beto. "All living things have midichlorians. It's inside every human, every animal, even every plant. Jedi were born with an unusually high number of midichlorians, allowing them to sense and sometimes even manipulate the midichlorians around them. Do you understand?"  
"I'm trying, sir," said Nicko honestly.  
"Well, things that are not alive in the normal sense of the word – such as a rock or a machine – appear as a void in the fabric of midichlorians. However, a rock is covered in so many microbes that even it feels more alive than a droid that is kept carefully sanitized."  
He paused. Edge hurried to say, "That makes sense."  
Nicko nodded, part of his mind on driving the fighter.  
"Something such as a factory of droids – or a ship-yard – creates a very interesting contrast of many midichlorians and none at all," said General Beto. "This strange void is coming from the planet. And I would not expect to feel that even at a mine. Also..." The General trailed off. It was silent in the fighter. Nicko just shrugged and focused on entering the atmosphere. As soon as they had, General Beto let out a long, measured breath. He stood up and placed his hand on Edge's shoulder.  
"There," he told Edge, pointing to a strange mountain rising like a single point high above those around it. "Go there."  
"What is it?" Asked Edge. Nicko's mouth felt strangely dry.  
"The disturbance in the Force," said General Beto gravely. "It's coming from that mountain."

Commander Jay nodded at the officer at the comm station and prepared to receive the message, his helmet under one arm. He was sincerely hoping that it wasn't a top-brass Jedi like Master Yoda or Master Windu. He wasn't sure they would take kindly to being told anything by a trooper. Even if that trooper did hold the rank of commander.  
The holo-image flickered to life revealing an obviously young and tired Jedi apprentice. His jet-black hair was standing on end and the thin braid was tangled in the hood of his singed Jedi robes. Jay instantly felt sorry for him.  
" _Nova_? Come in, _Nova_ ," said the Commander-Padawan. "This is Commander Zachary of _The Arden_."  
" _Nova_ here," said Jay. "This is Commander Jay, acting CO. How can I help you?"  
"I'm looking for Master Mag Liano," said Zachary. "Is he there?"  
"General Mag Liano left a few minutes ago to conduct a rescue and recon mission on Surius 5," said Commander Jay. "I am under strict orders not to send any communications until he has contacted me."  
Zachary closed his eyes and breathed deeply, obviously struggling to stay calm. "Commander Jay," said the young apprentice. "Are you under orders to not desert your post?"  
"Not directly," said Jay cautiously.  
Something exploded in the back of Zachary's holo-image and he flinched. The image flickered a bit. "I am issuing a Red Zero and asking you for assistance, Commander," said Zachary, sounding exhausted. "My Master is missing and our life support is failing. Please, we need help. You're the only ship in range."  
Commander Jay swallowed hard. It was dead silent on the bridge. Red Zero meant immediate assistance needed for survival. Ignoring one meant leaving comrades to an almost certain death. There were no Jedi on board. No training sergeants or non-clone CO's. It was up to them. Commander Jay squared his shoulders. He had a feeling that General Beto would not ignore a distress call.  
"Hang tight and transmit your coordinates," said Commander Jay. "We're on our way."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Top of the Mountain**

"...so I boarded an escape pod and ended up here," General Isa finished.

Jolly nodded, impressed. He knew that keeping one's head in a crisis like that took a lot of courage and skills. And she had been General Beto's apprentice! Of course she knew how to get to safety.  
"Who's in command of your vessel?" Asked Zar. It had taken a few hours, but both clones were now comfortable enough with the unusual General to ask questions. They had stashed the speeders in another handy cave and were slowly crawling the last few meters up the ridge to what the Jedi-General insisted was some sort of base. The clones had their helmets on and tuned to the frequency of the small bead comlink in the Jedi's ear. It was high-tech stuff and picked up her quiet murmur as if she, too, were wearing a commando helmet.  
General Isa's smile slipped at the question. "My apprentice," she said quietly. "And he's only fifteen. He stayed on the bridge when I went to help down in engineering."  
Interpreting her somber mood for worry, Jolly said hesitantly, "I'm sure that he's all right."  
"Well," said General Isa, "It depends on your definition of all right. He's alive. And he's not gravely injured. But I can _Feel_ his distress even from out here. He's scared. And I've only been training Zach a year but I know that he doesn't scare easily."  
"You can feel that from _here_?" Jolly asked. He was amazed. No wonder the Jedi were in charge, with powers like that. How different would it be if he had been able to feel what was happening to his original squad? Or to even have that connection just with Edge and let him know that he'd made it. The General had replied something while Jolly was lost in thought and he only managed to pick up the last part of Zar's phrase.

"...General Mag Liano?"  
"Actually, yes," said General Isa. "I just got a return signal. He's waiting for us on the other side of the compound."  
"Wait...what?" Said Jolly.  
"My old master and I just managed to...ugh...Force-talk," said General Isa.  
Jolly just blinked. Zar said nothing. Then, "Force talk?" They chorused.  
"It's as if we can communicate by sending emotions to each other," she said. "Few Jedi can send specific details – even if they've trained together for a long time. The only pair I've ever personally known with that ability was Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi. But Beto knows I'm here and I know he's there."  
"He's on the planet?" Demanded Zar.  
"He's very hands-on with his missions. What type of Jedi would just sit back when something like this needs doing?"  
Jolly thought that was _exactly_ what a Jedi-General was supposed to do. But he didn't get to argue the point because they'd gotten to the top of the ridge and seen what the droids were doing.

It was worse than they had thought. Even Jolly was speechless and he heard Zar's breathing hike up.

The top of the mountain had been blown away, deep holes plunged down into its rocky slopes, where silver ore gleamed in the reflection of three of the neighboring planetoids, like three moons in the night sky. Bright lights illuminated spindly walkways that all connected to a thin spire that rose up from the center hole. Each spindly arm, curved around and connected to the dark, imposing frame of Something.  
Something large and mechanical. Bones of some sort of ginormous round ship. Droids crawled over the entire thing like ants over their hill. And it looked unfinished. And it was _massive_.  
"Ah..." Jolly gulped. "General...?"  
"I don't know what that is," she said grimly. "I...oh."  
"What is it?"  
"Beto just saw it," she said. "I felt his surprise. It was...a bit more panicked than normal."  
A small oranges light began blinking in the corner of Jolly's HUD and he focused his gaze on the read-out. Zar's heart rate was approaching panic level. Jolly blinked to turn on a private comm with him.  
" _Ner vod_ ," said Jolly firmly, not a trace if his usual good humor. "Breathe. We've got two Jedi generals and probably a ship full of troopers in orbit. We'll be fine. Deep breaths, come on."  
"It looks like a large version of the space stations on Genosis," Zar breathed.  
"This isn't Genosis," Jolly reminded him.  
"I...I know..."  
 _He's having a flash-back_ , Jolly realized. _Fierfek. What a time..._  
"Zar," General Isa reached out and placed a hand on the smooth, white of his armor. "I can use a Jedi trick to calm you down. Would you like me to try?"  
Zar hesitated. And then nodded.  
As far as Jolly was concerned, nothing happened. But Zar's heart rate dropped back down and a few seconds later, he straightened his shoulders and gripped his Deece a bit tighter.  
"Thank you, General," said Zar.  
General Isa nodded and said. "North around the perimeter, boys. Let's get to it."  
Zar took point. And Jolly wondered if General Beto would mind if he found his old apprentice even more fascinating than him.

Beto _Felt_ the two missing commandos before Nicko and Edge were able to pick them up with the night vision from their medium-range laser-cannons. A simple brush with the Force told him that they were both okay, although Zar has the tell-tale shadow of Isa's calming techniques and Jolly had minor bruising on just about every single rib.  
"Three friendlies approaching, men," Beto told his two companions. "It's my old apprentice for sure and your two missing squad mates are none the worse for wear."  
"Confirmed, tracking with long-range sensors," Nicko's relief was palpable in the Force. Edge's was so strong that it was almost visible. Several minutes later, Jolly half-crawled, half-climbed into their protected position behind a mining hole that had been begun and then abandoned. He was instantly embraced by Edge. The greeting was silent to Beto's ears, even with the bead comlink in – they had switched to a private frequency. Zar came next and, to his surprise, was given a quick embrace by Nicko.  
Isa came over last, lightly hopping down from the small ridge and landing easily on the balls of her feet. "Hello, Master."  
He gave her a hug, too. They were both Solarian after all and had worked together for more than a third of the young Jedi's life. "It is good to see you, Isa," he said warmly.  
"And you, General." The word General was said with a teasing lilt. She obviously found the idea of him leading men into battle as bizarre as he did.  
"Comm check. General Mag Liano, Bel-Mart?" said Edge in his ear.  
"Yes?"  
"Hear you loud and clear," said Isa. "And to whom am I speaking?"  
"Edge, ma'am," he replied, touching two fingers to his forehead in a respectful salute. "And this is Sergeant Nicko."  
Nicko gave her a full salute, but didn't hesitate to shake her hand when she extended it.  
"Now we're all here," Isa said briskly. "So what do we do?"  
"And what _is_ that?" Added Jolly, jerking his thumb in the direction of the bright lights of the construction site and mine.  
"I hope I'm wrong," said Beto grimly. "But I think that it's the center portion of a round satellite."  
"Well," said Jolly after a pause. "That's a very large sphere."

The plan that followed focused on one thing; finding out for sure what that was.

And finding the rest of the pieces if there were more.

Everyone hoped that there weren't more.

" _The Nova_ is still not responding," said Nicko grimly several minutes later. He'd been trying to hail their ship for the last ten minutes. "I don't think that they're in range."  
"Should one of us go to the fighter and try to contact them?" Zar wondered aloud.  
"No," said General Beto softly. "No...Commander Jay is a good man. If they're not in orbit, then someone must be in imminent danger. Trying our long-range fighter communications may put them at risk. And it most definitely will give those droids a way to track us."  
General Isa nodded. "We'll have to execute the plan without them. As it is, all we're doing is recon."  
"With plan B," Jolly added.  
"I don't particularly like plan B," Zar grumbled on the private channel.  
"First light, when dawn will make it hard for them to see us," said General Beto with finality. "We'll stand watch in pairs. Any volunteers?"  
"Edge," said Jolly.  
"Jolly," said Edge.  
And then they both grinned. Everyone knew it, even without being able to see their faces.

And General Isa felt a chill go down her spine


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Plan A**

 _"_ _Silent Recon. And maybe blow something up." – Jolly_

Nicko could tell that Zar was fiercely proud that he had saved those torpedoes from their damaged ship. Between himself and Edge and a bit of Jedi mind tricks from General Isa, they managed to have four rather powerful IED's. Each clone carried one of those as well as their deeces and part of the long-range cannon which would be useful if they got pinned in a corner. Each Jedi carried their lightsaber and General Beto had his blaster, too. But against whatever the hell that thing was and the hundreds of droids...Nicko gulped quietly in his helmet as the small group crept ever closer to the structure. Even with Jedi, those weren't great odds.

General Beto put up his hand and the group halted. About fifteen droids went by carrying mining equipment. As soon as they passed, General Beto waved the group on. Nicko still didn't understand how the Jedi could sense droids but he wasn't complaining. He wondered if the clone masters ever thought about giving the clones Jedi powers. It would be useful in a situation like this. But then there was that whole nasty business with the Dark Side. No, better to just be highly trained men.

General Beto put up his hand again and they stopped. This time, it was a group of armed battle droids. And this time they had no cover. Everyone froze. Nicko was praying so hard for none of them to turn around that he bit his lip. Two, five, ten droids went by without incident.

But the last droid, the eleventh, turned around.

Before the droid could so much as run an algorithm to confirm that they were trespassers, even before Nicko had finished raising his weapon, General Beto raised his hand to eye level with the palm up. He brought his fingers together as if he were pinching a particularly large grape, and then yanked down, opening his fingers wide. The droids all wobbled a bit, and then collapsed without a word. All the commandos just stood there, weapons pointing at what were once fully functional battle droids.  
General Isa grinned at Beto. "Still got it, I see."  
"Well," said Beto reasonably. "It's much simpler to do large groups when they aren't under specific orders to kill you on sight."  
"Are they...?" Even talkative Jolly couldn't finish his sentence.  
"Disconnected from the droid control center," said Master Beto. "This way they haven't raised any alarms. With an operation this large, I say we have a good thirty minutes before anyone notices that they're missing."  
"Let's not waste the time, then," said Isa. She stepped over the useless droids and kept walking. The Commandos followed, still shocked.  
"Can all Jedi...?" Zar finally ventured.  
"As far as I know," Isa said over her shoulder with a grin. "Only one living Jedi can do it. I can sense the droids but not much else."  
General Beto looked embarrassed.  
Nicko was beyond impressed.

It was good that they had thirty minutes because after about five more droid groups (one more got the special Jedi surprise) and nearly twenty minutes, the group was finally at the base of the first support for the structure. And that's when they realized that it was much bigger than they had first realized.

Much, much bigger.

"Ah..." Jolly breathed out.  
"I don't care what this is," said General Isa grimly. "I don't want the Separatists to have it."  
"It's a weapon," said General Beto with finality. "And I don't want them to have it either."  
"Very astute, my dear Jedi," said an oily voice. "But I'm afraid that you don't get much of a choice in the matter."  
Both lightsabers were out, and four deeces fully charged, before they had even turned around.  
Count Dooku, black cape and all.

 _Okay_ , thought Nicko. His mind went into battle mode. _Plan B_.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Plan B**

 _"Blow up a ton of stuff while getting out of there." – Jolly  
"Strategic escape." – Zar  
"That's what I said." – Jolly  
_  
Beto could have kicked himself. He'd been so busy focusing on the droids – how many there were, where they were, what were they doing – and the structure itself – definitely a weapon – that he had ignored the other shadow in the Force. The look on Isa's face said that she was no less surprised. But Dooku of old had been a talker. So Beto focused on buying the clones time to get away and lay the charges. A quick mind nudge at Isa told him that she was thinking the same thing.  
"It seems as if I finally get to see what you have become, Dooku," said Beto smoothly. He kept his lightsaber ready, but powered off.  
"Ah..." Said Dooku, he seemed pleased. "If it isn't Master Mag Liano. Qui Gon Jinn's little accomplice from days in the Temple so long ago. Tell me, old Padawan, what do you think about the world I am creating? You were never one for the rules of the old Jedi Order. With your manipulation of technology instead of minds. What do you think of my droid army?"  
"I think that you must be very afraid of the thoughts of men, if you rely so much on machines," Beto replied.

Isa had quietly stepped closer to Nicko and was tapping one finger against her leg. Tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap.  
Morse code.  
Old fashioned. Solarian. And so rarely used that Beto and Isa used it to communicate during Jedi Council meetings when they wanted to reach a decision without the other masters knowing what they were thinking. Dooku was much too arrogant to know it. But would the clones know it?  
This Sergeant Artemis had been part Solarian. Beto was sure they would.

Dooku frowned. "Men are easily swayed. Machines follow orders quite well. But there are men that lead them. This world isn't built by machines. It is built by my Master and those who serve him."  
Interesting.  
"So your Master has more than one apprentice?" Beto asked. Dooku paused. _Hmm. Sore point.  
_ "I am the first, and the only true apprentice," Dooku said finally.

Edge had quietly set up his improvised bomb against the support strut, making it look like discarded gear rather than a weapon. The clones were all tense, ready to run at any signal.  
"He would accept you, though," Dooku continued. "Your ability is legend."  
"I serve only the Light," Beto said.  
"Pity." And then Dooku sprang forward, red lightsaber swinging. But Beto was expecting that. He spun around, leg coming up in a perfect roundhouse kick that hit Dooku square on the face. The Sith staggered back, his shock evident in the Force.

The four clones dashed away, heading for the heart of the structure and Isa, after a quick mental _"got this?"_ At Beto, went after them to cover their escape. Only to throw herself onto the ground to avoid the blaster fire that leaked in on both sides of the narrow passage.

"Droid assassins!" She called.  
"Stupendous," Beto muttered. Even he couldn't de-program those without time and he couldn't do several at once. And Dooku had already gotten his second wind. Abandoning his lightsaber, Dooku stretched out his hand with a roar and sent blue-white lightening flying towards Beto. Beto spun out of the way, catching a good portion on his lightsaber and then, with the motion of someone sending a punch after deflecting one, redirected the lightening towards Dooku.  
Now, Beto had never actually done that before, he'd only theorized about it with Master Yoda.  
And almost all of the lightening fizzled out before it even got close to Dooku, but Dooku was surprised enough that he opted for the lightsaber instead. He called it to his hand and powered it on has he swung. Beto dropped his weight to his back leg and met the blade with his own. The blades fizzled and spat sparks as they crossed.

Nicko felt like a deserter. Leaving his Jedi to fight the leader of the Separatists alone felt like neglecting his duty and he hated it. But orders were orders, even if they had been tapped out in Morse code. Set the IED's at the base of each of the supports for the giant weapon-thing, leave the cannon where they could blast it to pieces, and haul away out of there. Except that, no way it would be that easy.  
"Heads up!" Jolly shouted. They all dove to the ground as blaster fire filled the air. Nicko rolled to his back as best as he could with the bomb strapped onto it and powered his Deece. A few tense minutes later, the droids were all dismantled.  
Nicko glanced at the HUD. A few elevated heart rates but no one was injured.  
"Too bad General B had to stay behind to fight that lightsaber-wielder, ey?" Said Jolly brightly.  
Zar snorted and jumped to his feet. The rest scrambled to follow and soon the next support strut was before them.  
"Don't say General B," Nicko added, even as he swung the IED off his back and synced it with the remote. "That is definitely disrespectful."  
"Whatever you say, Sarge," Jolly chimed.  
"Incoming!" Zar called.  
"Form up!" Nicko barked. "Omega protocol, NOW!" Zar and Edge dropped to their stomachs, using their forearms to brace their weapons. Nicko and Jolly pressed their backs against the support strut. They returned fire as best they could. They weren't pinned down yet.

But they would be soon.

"We need to move," Nicko hissed.  
"You two get going and set that charge," Edge suggested. "We'll cover you."  
Splitting up. Again. For a terrible moment, Nicko let his emotions get the best of him. But only for a moment.  
"Your orders are this; find our Jedi and get out," said Nicko. He stopped shooting long enough to grab the parts of the small cannon from both his pack and Jolly's, and slap them together. He pressed them into Edge's hands. Then, Nicko grabbed the other IED from Zar. Nicko and Jolly, dashed away, using the structure for cover. A few stray shots went their way but none hit.

"I've got the cannon," said Edge.  
"Right," grunted Zar. He focused on lining up droids in the crosshairs of his Deece and firing. No time to think; just battle instinct. He heard Edge fiddling with something and then Edge began firing the small laser-cannon on full spread. There was a brief lull in the fight where the two commandos managed to jump up and run forward. They were barely out of range of the bomb they had already set before they dove behind some mining supplies and started shooting again. But these droids were a bit more hesitant. They soon realized why.  
"Ugh...Zar...is this dynamite?"  
Zar glanced up at the packing crates and gulped. High-grade dynamite. In reinforced crates that were already starting to smolder from the blaster bolts.  
"Yeah, _ner vod_ ," said Zar. "Maybe we should get out of here soon."

Again, Dooku was forced to retreat. He'd discarded that ridiculous black cape and his carefully trimmed beard was all awry.  
"Still up to your old tricks, I see," he spat.  
Beto didn't rise to the bait. The ancient Solarian martial art forms had always been a point of fascination for Beto. And it was quite simple to adapt those fighting styles to a lightsaber fight. Long kicks, smooth blocks, and using his enemy's own weight against him. Now, if only Dooku were foolish enough for Beto to give him a good punch. A shower of sparks lit up the air between the Master of the Light and the Master of the Dark, further charging the air with smoke. Beto felt a brief surge of satisfaction from Isa. Suddenly, a smoldering battle-droid came flying through the air and Dooku had to dive out of the way to avoid being beheaded by his own machine.

Beto focused.

And the red lightsaber came flying through the air into Beto's free hand.

Isa let out a whoop from somewhere to his right and another destroyed droid came flying through the air. Dooku suddenly found himself with nowhere to go but towards Beto. Beto pointed both lightsabers at him and raised an eyebrow.  
"You think you've won..." Dooku began.  
Beto _pushed_ with the Force and sent Dooku flying against the wall just in time to raise the two lightsabers and deflect the laser fire from the droids that came flying in on speeders. More battle droids.  
"Time to go?!" Isa shouted at him. Her face was covered in soot and sweat dripping down her face. Destroying four assassin droids was no easy feat.  
"Time to go," Beto agreed. He turned to get Dooku and found that the coward had already run off. For a moment, Beto thought about chasing him down. But a sudden surge of panic in the Force had him running after Isa.  
The clones were in trouble.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Plan C**

 _"Do we even have a plan C?" – Zar  
"Run!" – Edge  
_  
Except running hadn't worked out too well. Or they had waited too long, expecting for the reinforced crates to be the same grade as Coruscant-approved mining equipment. _At least it took out the droids_ , Zar thought hazily. But his HUD was flashing red in the corner and he scrambled around in the smoke, looking for his partner.  
"Edge? Edge!" Zar shouted.  
The medium-range communications kicked on.  
"What's happening?" Nicko asked, he sounded strange, too, and his own icon began to blink orange.  
"Edge?!" Jolly demanded. "Edge, say something, _Ner vod_."  
The smoke was clearing and Zar managed to make out the faint outline of dirty white armor. The rate of the blinking red icon began to slow down.  
"NO!"  
"Jolly, don't panic," Nicko barked. "He...oh..." Nicko's voice trailed off, as he gasped in pain.  
"Jolly, I've got him. Turn off your feed and take care of Nicko!" Zar snapped.  
"But..."  
"NOW!"

Jolly must have done so because his voice stopped abruptly. Zar gulped and finally made it to Edge. Edge's body wasn't moving, still thrown in the awkward angle from the explosion.  
"No..."  
Zar tore off Edge's helmet and began pumping his hands over Edge's chest. CPR. Last resort. "C'mon, brother," he hissed. "Don't make me tell Jolly you're dead. Please don't."  
Suddenly, Master Beto Mag Liano was beside him. Zar could still smell the acrid scent of a lightsaber on him, and he had a thin cut from shrapnel above his eye.  
"Don't stop," he ordered. And then the Jedi Master placed his hand on Edge's forehead and let his eyes drift shut.  
Then, the first of the bombs went off. Zar flinched as debris began to rain down on them and alarms began to blare. The structure above them began to sway ominously. But Zar's hands kept pumping rhythmically, willing Edge to open his eyes, and the Jedi Master's eyes stayed closed.  
Suddenly, Edge gasped, his body arching unexpectedly. Zar felt Edge's heart surge on its own, and Zar half-fell back.

Edge opened his eyes, looking scared and confused. "Wha...?"  
"No time," said Master Mag Liano, his eyes also opening. "I hate to do this, Edge. But you need to _run_. Understand?" Edge nodded, standing a bit shakily. Zar knew that the command had been laced with some sort of Jedi mumbo-jumbo. But at the moment, he didn't care.  
"Zar, do you have the remote for the charges?"  
"Nicko has all of them on one remote," Zar replied. He also stood, grabbing Edge's helmet and weapon.  
"Tell Nicko to blow them," said General Mag Liano grimly. "And run."  
And then they were running, dashing around groups of frantic construction droids and the swaying struts of the Thing.  
"Nicko!" Zar shouted into the com. "Nicko, if you can hear me, blow this place to the sky! Go, go, go!"  
"Copy that!" Nicko's voice came faintly over the com. And then the sound of three more explosions.  
"RUN!" The General bellowed. Zar didn't need to be told twice.

Jedi Master Isa felt bad about forcing Nicko's body to ignore the pain of the shrapnel wound. But no major organs had been hit and she had stopped the worst of the bleeding. Jolly was still half-supporting him, though, as they sprinted through a world of metal and squealing droids.  
 _I could use my old master's droid reprogramming ability,_ she thought grumpily. She could do one droid just fine if she had time. Which was still impressive, all things considered. But not useful at the moment. Another group of battle droids came running out from the smoke. Isa didn't think much as she launched herself forward, igniting her lightsaber as she flew through the air and decapitating about three of them before they could actually aim. Nicko and Jolly only managed to get off two shots each before she had dismantled the rest of the droids with quick strokes.  
"Ma'am!" Jolly said, she could feel how tense he was in the wide ripples he was sending out in the Force. "We won't make it out on foot!"  
"On foot," Isa agreed. She'd already spotted the solution. One of those hover-carts meant for hauling gear. "This way!" She took off running again, trusting the two commandos to keep up. She dispatched a few more battle droids as Jolly all but threw Nicko into the cart and jumped into the pilot's seat.  
"Go!" Isa shouted. She'd spotted another group of battle droids. But the collapsing structure dropped a rather large metal walkway between her and them. So she turned and Force-jumped onto the back of the cart, using her lightsaber to deflect any stray blaster bolts that came their way and trying to maintain a Force-shield of sorts around them so that they didn't get knocked out by a falling beam or something. And she was trying to find...  
"Left!" She shouted at Jolly. "They're to the left!"  
Jolly didn't respond, just switched gears and swung the cart in the direction Isa was frantically pointing. Nicko let out a muffled oath as he was sent careening into the side of the cart and then he let out another oath as he got a look at what was in bottom of the cart with him.  
"We've got explosives here!" Nicko called.  
"Use them!" Isa suggested. She'd powered off her lightsaber and had both hands to the side, her eyes half-closed. "I've got my hands full!" Nicko didn't seem to understand and Jolly had become a steely pulse of concentration, like a rubber band pulled too tight. But Isa had just realized that their IED's had done their job a little too well. She was literally supporting the collapsing equipment with the Force in order to give them an escape route.  
And it was huge.

Jolly shouted something and suddenly they were beside Beto, Zar and Edge. Isa trusted everyone else to do their job and blocked it all out, concentrating on a narrow tunnel of escape. The pressure eased a bit as Beto joined her in holding up the remains of the structure and they finally burst out from under it, zooming away to where the small fighter had been hidden.  
Isa finally let go of her Force-grip on the destroyed weapon and it all fell into itself, screeching and groaning like a gigantic animal.  
"Heads up!" Shouted Nicko and he began throwing the explosives that had been in the back. The few escaping droids all collapsed in a shower of broken sparks.  
"Nice aim," Isa panted. She sat down heavily beside the commando.  
"Thanks, ma'am," he said. He gingerly put a hand at his side. It came back wet with blood. "Just doing my job," he added in a half-whisper.  
Zar crawled over to Nicko and began examining his side. Even with his helmet on, Isa knew he was frowning. But Nicko waved him off, probably saying something on a private channel that Isa couldn't hear.  
Edge was leaning heavily against the side of the cart, helmet off. He managed a weak smile when Isa glanced at him with concern. "We'll be okay, ma'am," he told her. "We'll be okay."  
Isa nodded. "Yes."  
Master Beto glanced at her from the co-pilot's seat.  
 _They did a good job, didn't they?_ He asked through the Force.  
 _They always do,_ Isa thought back.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The Day After**

When they had arrived at _The Roar_ they had found a message from Commander Jay. In it he sheepishly asked for General Mag Liano's pardon, but he had left orbit in response to a Red Zero from a Jedi Apprentice-Commander Zachary Amir who was currently in command of _The Arden_. Beto had felt his old apprentice's relief even though her attitude had been as efficient and brisk as ever. She only ever relaxed when everyone was back safely.  
Jolly and Zar had hesitated when they got back to the fighter, teetering between going to fly the ship as their training demanded and giving their squad mates medical attention.  
"Take care of each other," Beto had ordered. "We can fly."  
Zar had given him a grateful look as Jolly ran off to get the med-kit. Beto and Isa slid into the pilot and copilot seat and a strong feeling of déjà vu plagued Beto. But of course, they had done this hundreds of times before.  
"You finally get to meet Zach," Isa said quietly as they finally left Surius 5 behind them.  
Beto half-chuckled. "That I do. He seems to have saved your crew."  
"He's a good kid," said Isa proudly. "But..."  
"But what?" Beto prompted gently.  
"I'm training him how to lead troops," she began, glancing back at Jolly speaking softly to Edge and Zar spraying Nicko with bacta spray, "How to lead men into battle. And I'm trying to teach him about peace and forgiveness and justice but how can I do that when he never gets to see it?"  
Beto nodded slowly. "I was thinking the same thing," he whispered. "At least Blake became my Padawan before we got the clone army, but even then...the world has changed."  
"The _Feeling_ is still there, isn't it?" Isa asked very quietly, so that the commandos couldn't hear.  
Beto nodded. "It lessens sometimes. Like now. But it's never gone away since the blockade started around Naboo."

They were greeted at the landing dock by Commander Jay, a very relieved padawan Zach, and a couple of medical droids that insisted that both Edge and Nicko sit down on hover-stretchers and whisked them away to the medical bay. Beto half-ordered Jolly and Zar to also get checked out before he allowed Jay to take him aside and fill him in on everything he had missed. Which was a surprisingly large number of things.  
 _The Arden_ had been deemed un-salvageable and Beto now had almost triple the number of troops on his ship. Most of them with injuries ranging from bad bruises to men who were on life-support in the med-bay. Zach had made the call to destroy the ship rather than let it fall into Separatist hands and, after scraping everything off the computers, Jay had agreed. That was when they has returned to the Surius system and realized that Beto had been attempting to contact them.

Still marveling at everything that could happen in a day, Beto stood in his ready room with Isa, Zach, and an embarrassed Commander Jay trying to hide in the corner. They were due to call the Jedi Council. Or part of it, anyway. The small holo-projector flickered to life revealing the venerable Master Yoda, Master Windu with Blake standing half-behind him, and – to Beto's slight surprise – Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin.  
"Greetings, Beto. Picked up your old apprentice, you have. Hmmm," said Yoda in that gravelly voice of his.  
"Something like that," Beto agreed. "Isa? Perhaps you should explain."

And then, the entire story again. _The Nova. The Arden_. Surius 5. The Commandos. The mystery weapon. And Count Dooku. At this point, Beto was rather pleased to show that he had managed to get Dooku's lightsaber. But Count Dooku had escaped. Again.  
Beto saw Anakin grind his teeth together when they admitted that. "That slimy, slippery..."  
"Anakin," Obi-Wan warned, although Beto got the feeling that he agreed whole-heartedly with his apprentice's assessment of their enemy.  
"Some things are worth more than hunting down an enemy," Windu said. "Destroying this weapon will undoubtedly damage the Separatist's plans."  
"Masters," Blake volunteered. "I don't understand. What _was_ the weapon?"  
Isa and Beto exchanged glances. Isa tapped out a quick message on her leg. Morse code. One word. Beto sent her a _Feeling_ of agreement.  
"I don't know for sure," Beto admitted. "But I have a pretty good guess."  
"Well?" Said Windu.  
"I think it was some sort of large, weaponized satellite," Beto said. "The limited scans we made suggest that it had a propulsion system to remain in orbit."  
Zach shuddered. "I wouldn't want one of those things in orbit over any planet."

On that somber note, the meeting concluded with the order for everyone to rendezvous with Blake and Windu at Calamaria. Isa and her troops would board a new ship and become part of Kenobi's fleet in the Outer Rim. And Beto would finally get his apprentice back.

It had been a long day, but Beto wasn't finished yet. He walked down the dim halls and waited for a moment as the doors of the Med Bay slid open. Inside, the light had been lowered to a soft blue. Most of the patients were sleeping. But the four men that he was seeking were still awake, talking in muffled tones in the far corner. Nicko, Edge and Jolly seemed to be patients – they were in medical beds. Zar was leaning back in a chair between two of the beds, obviously tired. They all made as if to stand and salute as he drew near, but he motioned for them to sit.  
"At ease," he said with a smile. "It was a grueling and unexpected mission. I don't expect you to be jumping up and saluting for no reason."  
"We would, though, sir," said Nicko. "You have...well...thank you, sir."  
"Especially for saving my life," Edge added. "Thank you." He was reclining on a large stack of pillows, an IV in his arm. But a quick scan with the Force told Beto that the soldier would be fine. He'd gotten to him in time.  
"Yes," Jolly added. "Thank you, General."  
Zar looked from one clone to the other and stood. He snapped to attention and gave Beto a perfect salute.


	12. Extra Chapter: Prologue

**Prologue: The War Begins - Two Days before the start of** ** _The Phantom Menance_**

Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn let his lightsaber power off with a hiss. He lifted up his hand to wipe away the sweat that had collected on his temple. Despite popular legend, Jedi Knights got tired too. "Good match," he told his opponent honestly. "I haven't dueled at that level in a long time."  
Jedi Master Beto Mag Liano powered off his own lightsaber. The dark blue blade, made from a rare gem from his home system of Solaris, disappeared with an identical hiss to Qui Gon's.

"Likewise," Beto said, "Seems like all I get these days are droids, droids and droids. If I get a fight at all."  
"The council has you chasing diplomatic missions, doesn't it?" Qui Gon asked. He extended his hand and a full bottle of water floated, almost lazily, to the hand that called it.  
Beto half-grinned as he used the Force to call his own bottle to him; but the grin disappeared after he'd taken several large gulps of Coruscant's purified water. "Diplomatic missions," the Jedi Master mused. "Right."  
Qui Gon frowned. "What's wrong?"  
"We've known each other since we were children here, Qui Gon," Beto said, sitting down on one of the benches built into the wall of the dueling room. "How many times have you known my instincts to be wrong?"  
A slight chill traveled down Qui Gon's spine. "Only once."  
"Exactly and..." Beto suddenly seemed to realize what Qui Gon had said, "Once?"  
"Well, there was that incident with Master Yoda's private cruiser..."  
Beto groaned. "We were padawans, Qui Gon! You can't honestly still hold me responsible for that! And I fixed it almost immediately. We almost didn't get caught. Almost."  
"Yeah...fixed it," Qui Gon scowled deeply and Beto raised an eyebrow.  
"What's bothering you?"  
"Nothing."  
Beto snorted. "I know you better than that."  
Qui Gon sighed. "Obi Wan said that same thing to me the other day."  
"Same what? That he fixed it?"  
Qui Gon nodded.  
"And...?"  
"The thing that he had fixed was a fight between two senators and the captain of a Nemodian trade vessel."  
Beto whistled, impressed. "I'm unsure why that is a bad thing."  
"It's not," said Qui Gon. "It's just, a year ago he would have waited anxiously for me to get there before even _daring_ to speak to one senator, let alone two. Having him smoothly handle that situation...it was as if he suddenly became a man in a matter of minutes."  
"I'll bet he looked pleased with himself, too," mused Beto. "And proud to tell you."  
"Okay," said Qui Gon, glancing at his friend. "We're not talking about my padawan anymore. Who is this? Yours?"  
Beto nodded. "Would you like to know what Isa did?"  
"Oh, this sounds like a story," said Qui Gon. He motioned grandly, "Tell me, Jedi Master, what is your tale?"

"Tell me, Jedi Master, what is your tale?" The slug-like Hutt said in its gravelly tones. Jedi Master Beto Mag Liano fought to keep from grinding his teeth together in frustration. How something that oozed spoke in such a dry voice, he didn't understand. And this "honorable" Hutt was being a bigger handful than the smugglers he'd had to deal with in the past. His apprentice, Isa Bel-Mart, shifted uneasily beside him, keeping an eye on the half-amphibian representative from Mon Calamari and the two Corellian representative speaking to each other in whispers.  
"There is no tale," Beto tried again. "It is simply the opinion of the Senate that all three parties represented here would benefit from a long-lasting trade agreement."  
"It would eliminate the need for...ugh...limiting the activities of the competition," Isa volunteered. _Translation,_ Beto thought grimly, _you can stop blowing up each other's ships_.  
"I don't trust the Hutt," said the Mon Calamarian. "But..."  
The Hutt didn't take kindly to this and began saying some rather rude things about the parentage of the Mon Calamarian. Beto almost drew his lightsaber. Almost.  
"Perhaps we should take a moment to confer with our respective organizations," one of the Corellians said.  
"By all means," said Beto, motioning to the adjoining rooms. "Please, confer." The respective aliens went to separate rooms. Beto looked at his padawan. Isa raised an eyebrow.  
"Why do we always get these missions, master?" She asked, tugging on her braid. "We never get to do any _real_ Jedi work."  
"This is real Jedi work," Beto answered. "It's just less...glamorous." Isa gave him a look and Beto was about to tell her that she should respect all branches of Jedi work when her expression changed, going strangely blank. Beto had seen that look before, and he had learn to trust his young padawan's sudden insights into the Force that were poignant yet uncontrolled. "What is it?" He asked, his hand on the hilt of his lightsaber.  
"Someone else is here," Isa said quietly.  
"Anther trade partner?"  
"No...he's...waiting," Isa let her eyes close, breathing deeply. "He's waiting for something else, something dangerous...he...ah..." She opened her eyes ruefully. "Sorry, master. It's gone. I think he got onto a ship and left."  
"How far?" Beto prompted.  
"I'm not sure," she admitted. "Very?"  
Beto sighed and dropped his hand. "Isa, you really must learn to control these impulses."  
"I've been trying," she half-muttered. "They just, appear out of nowhere."  
"Do not try, do," said Beto firmly. "Trying implies that you may fail. That you cannot learn. But I know that you can control the Force – you have an amazing ability to harness the Force while you are in battle. You must learn how to control your ability to..." Beto trailed off. _What could he call this? Fortune telling? Premonition?  
_ "Sense things spontaneously?" Isa volunteered.  
Beto nodded. "Remember, if you keep an open and calm mind, you can harness the Force no matter the case," he finished. He couldn't let his padawan have the last word – not when he wanted her to remember the lesson.  
"Open and calm mind," Isa repeated. "Right."

The Corellians marched into the room and Beto was distracted by their pointless questions about compensation for long enough that he didn't notice Isa slip out one of the doors until the Hutt came back in and asked if she was getting the Mon Calamarian.  
"My apprentice...is taking care of some other business," Beto lied smoothly, biting back his annoyance. The Mon Calamarian came back inside and the discussion started once again in earnest. The sudden sound of blaster fire had Beto drawing his lightsaber even before he realized that he had moved. The Hutt made a strange squealing noise and started moving surprisingly fast for his size, trying to put as much distance between himself and the door nearest to the noise of battle. The other three aliens drew their blasters. Unfortunately, they pointed them at each other. Beto ground his teeth together.  
"We have been betrayed," the Mon Calamarian all but spat at the other two.  
"True," said the talkative Corellian. "But not by us."  
"You will all lower your blasters," said Beto, drawing slightly on the Force to make sure they complied. The less talkative Corellian did lower his blaster. The other two wavered but didn't actually do anything.  
"He's a traitor!" The Mon Calamarian said, waving with his free hand at the talkative Corellian. "He's working with the Nemodians! Trying to get a monopoly on trade in the system!"  
"How dare you suggest that I would work with those stinking cowards!" Talkative Corellian snapped back. "I would have to be a Hutt..." Something seemed to occur to both of them of them at the same time. To be fair, it had also occurred to Beto. The two aliens turned their blasters on the escaping Hutt.  
"Stop right there!" Beto shouted. The Hutt made the strange squeal again and yanked open a door. At the last minute, Beto realized that the Hutt was standing in such a way that the open door would cover him. As if he wanted to be protected from...  
"Look out!" Beto let go of his lightsaber and put out his hands, concentrating on keeping the debris from whatever bomb had exploded in the adjacent room well away from himself and the three innocent aliens. Half-hidden behind Beto, the talkative Corellian kept his wits about him long enough to fire a few shots at the Hutt. Two burned harmlessly into the already ruined wall, but the third gave the end of the Hutt's tail a nice burn. Beto used the Force to leap across the room and while calling his lightsaber to his hand. The blue blade came to life centimeters from the Hutt's slimy throat.  
"Don't move," Beto suggested pleasantly. Then he sent his consciousness into a quick Force-sweep of the building. Most importantly, he wanted to find...  
 _Master?_  
 _Isa_. Beto felt relief floor through him. _Where have you been?  
_ The smoking debris cleared a bit as Isa used the Force to brush some aside. Her face was covered in soot and the end of her robes singed. Yet, she walked confidently into the room and surveyed the three indignant merchants, the frightened Hutt and her bemused yet relieved Master. "I took care of it, Master," she said simply.  
"Took care of what, my young padawan?"  
"All the droids that were attacking the compound," she said. Beto just blinked. He could feel that she'd been in battle all right. And the familiar acrid smell of burning droid was entering the room with the smoke. "Sorry that I missed the bomb," she added apologetically. "Why was the mystery man so set on blowing us up anyway?"  
The less talkative Corellian stepped forward and said, "That may be my fault. You see I'm Prince Atin –"

"One moment," Qui Gon held up his hand to stop Beto's story in its tracks. "The Prince of the independent countries of Corellia was there?"  
Beto nodded, looking disgruntled. "No one thought to tell us either; I hate these royalty types. Always sneaking around and making it difficult for us to do our job. Can you imagine the repercussions if he'd been killed?"  
"Sounds like your padawan saved the Jedi and the Senate from having to answer a lot of awkward questions," said Qui Gon thoughtfully.  
Beto nodded, leaning back against the wall. "It's coming soon," he said softly.  
"What is, my friend?"  
"The trials," said Beto. "She's only my second apprentice; I wonder of it gets easier as you have time to train more."  
Qui Gon frowned, remembering his first apprentice's dangerous slide into the Dark side. "I wouldn't know."  
"Obi Wan must almost be ready, too," said Beto.  
Qui Gon grimaced. "Sometimes I think so. Other times..."  
Beto grinned. "I know the feeling."  
Qui Gon's comlink began to chirp and the master answered it; "Yes?"  
"Your presence, along with that of your padawan, is requested in the Council's Chambers," came the voice of the venerable Master Windu. "We have a mission for you."  
Qui Gon nodded, saying, "Understood. May I ask a summary of what this mission may contain?"  
"Nemodians, Naboo, and blockades," said Windu. Beto almost thought he sounded amused. If Windu did amused that was.  
"Be there soon," said Qui Gon. He thumbed off the comlink and looked at his old friend. "Sounds like I have to pick up the slack from that story you were telling me. Picking up your mess – again."  
Beto laughed and clapped him on the back. "How about I owe you a drink down in Coruscant? One of our old haunts from when we had just become Knights and before we had these younglings underfoot?"  
Qui Gon smiled and shook Beto's hand warmly. "I look forward to it."

The Masters exited the practice rooms and went to the large indoor gardens within the Temple. Obi Wan and Isa lay lounging in the sun that shone through the windows high in the ceiling. As their Masters got closer they saw that the two had been building a precarious tower of stones using only their minds; it was already taller than twice Isa's height and had stones of different shapes and sizes. It climbed towards the last rays of sun glinting down from the sky. Isa carefully stretched as she _Felt_ Beto approach; and Obi Wan stood in one fluid movement. "Mission, Master?"  
Qui Gon nodded. "We are wanted in the Council Chambers immediately."  
Isa smiled and gave Obi Wan a hug before he could protest much. Solarians were very "huggy" by nature and no amount of Jedi Training could get it out of them. "Good luck, Obi," she said.  
"Good luck, yourself," he answered, grinning. "Don't almost blow up any princes this time." Isa's laughter followed Obi Wan Kenobi and Qui Gon Jinn out of the garden.

It was only after they had left that the sun was momentarily blocked by a very large ship passing directly over the Temple. Isa shivered in the unexpected darkness. Something in the Force seemed to shout at her in the distance, but the feeling faded as she tried to _Listen_. "Master?" She said suddenly.  
"Yes?"  
"Did you tell Master Qui Gon about your _Feeling_?"  
Beto frowned. "No, we became distracted." He shook his head. "Don't worry, I'll tell him later. The danger is distant – whatever it is."

About two weeks later, Isa Bel-Mart waited once more in the garden, swallowing back tears that a Jedi should not let fall. _No man is worth your tears_. Several floors above her, Master Beto Mag Liano put his hand on young Obi Wan's shoulder as the young man prepared to enter the Council chambers, alone, for The Test.  
"You should know," Beto told him softly. "Qui Gon told me that you were ready for the trials the last time we spoke, before the mission to Naboo. You are ready, Obi Wan Kenobi."  
Obi Wan nodded, swallowing hard. "Thank you, Master."  
Beto stepped back and watched his old friend's apprentice enter the chamber. Soon, Isa would follow.

But for now...

"Ready?" He asked her, his hand on the hyperdrive control.  
"Ready, Master." She had a fierce smile on her face as she tightened her grip on the copilot controls.  
And they were off, saving the galaxy once more.


End file.
